On the way to the beautiful Pensacola Beach is a self-described “Carolina-style” BBQ restaurant with a menu as big as the state of Florida. Billy Bob’s certainly doesn’t look like your typical BBQ joint as it is a stucco-looking structure painted a blue-green teal color. I was over in Pensacola for business and had seen this place on a previous trip to Pensacola Beach so I figured it was worth a try.
As you walk in it reminds you of a family-owned country restaurant just off a rural roadside until you look around on the walls and see hurricane and palm tree photos. Also situated on the walls are photos of some of the menu items including baked sweet potatoes, their sausage sandwich and their bread bowls of chili and brunswick stew. Their menu is just as expansive. Burgers, salads, loaded baked potatoes and ribs are all available. You can also tell this place is on the way to some type of tourist spot because they have a very convenient take-out window that was pretty busy with moms and kids in shorts getting to-go orders.
I chose the jumbo brisket sandwich and home fries that were basically potato wedges. They also have sandwiches of turkey, pork, sausage, beef and chicken. My sandwich had big slices of beef brisket topped “Carolina-style” with slaw, pickles and a touch of mayo. It had no sauce on it. It appears they take their sauces seriously as they have 3 different varieties to choose from. A damn hot one, a mild sauce and vinegar sauce. The hot and mild sauces were of a thin tomato base and the damn hot one had my mouth burning 10 minutes after I was done. Just the way I like it. I didn’t try much of the vinegar sauce because that’s all it really was: vinegar. The meat was very tender, not very smoky but with good flavor. The hot sauce mixed with the mild sauce made the sandwich very good. The fries went straight from the fryer to my basket and were excellent.
All-in-all, a very neat place. I would like to return to try that bread bowl brunswick stew and the ribs. If you are ever on your way to Pensacola Beach and in the mood for some ‘cue, try this place.